FILE – In this May 9, 2012, file photo, Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Grimmâ€™s attorney stated on Friday, April 25, 2014, that federal prosecutors in New York plan on filing criminal charges against the lawmaker. Lawyer William McGinley said Grimm is innocent and called the federal probe into the former FBI agent-turned-politician â€œa politically driven vendetta.â€ (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

FILE – In this May 9, 2012, file photo, Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. Grimmâ€™s attorney stated on Friday, April 25, 2014, that federal prosecutors in New York plan on filing criminal charges against the lawmaker. Lawyer William McGinley said Grimm is innocent and called the federal probe into the former FBI agent-turned-politician â€œa politically driven vendetta.â€ (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

FILE – In this April 7, 2011, file photo, Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y., center, accompanied by Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., left, House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy of Calif., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Grimmâ€™s attorney stated on Friday, April 25, 2014, that federal prosecutors in New York plan on filing criminal charges against the lawmaker. Lawyer William McGinley said Grimm is innocent and called the federal probe into the former FBI agent-turned-politician â€œa politically driven vendetta.â€ (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

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NEW YORK (AP) â€” Republican U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm, who has been dogged by allegations of campaign violations since his first campaign for Congress in 2009 and 2010, is facing criminal charges from federal prosecutors, his lawyer said on Friday.

A House Ethics Committee announced in November that Grimm was under investigation for possible campaign finance violations but said it would defer its inquiry because of a separate Department of Justice investigation.

A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Brooklyn said Friday he couldn’t confirm, deny or comment on the case. And the FBI’s New York office, which handles investigations, also declined to comment.

Grimm’s attorney, William McGinley, said in a statement he wasn’t surprised by the charges. But he maintained the lawmaker had done nothing wrong.

“After more than two years of investigation plagued by malicious leaks, violations of grand jury secrecy, and strong-arm tactics, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has disclosed its intent to file criminal charges against Congressman Grimm,” he said in the statement. “When the dust settles, he will be vindicated.”

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Associated Press writers Tom Hays and Michael Sisak contributed to this report from New York, and Alan Fram contributed from Washington, D.C.